Saturday, March 31, 2007

Last week I was asked by a friend to do a web Searchfor Mira Nair for her contact info. Seems she has hersights set on a project concerning The Beatles.Well, I have listed Mirabai Films on this Blog forawhile now, so no problem there - the info was sentout in a couple of minutes. That set me Googling forMs. Nair and led me to the discovery of her current priority:Shantaram the movie.

Now the only Shantaram in my memory was the directorof Prabhat Studios in Bombay where my father was employedas an artist during the '50s. But at Google, Shantaramturned out to be a semi-autobiographical novelby an Australian named Gregory David Roberts.Remember that name for it's bound to show up everywhere asthe days progress. Not only because the talent of filmmaker Mira Nairis involved, but because it brings her together with one of Hollywood'shighest-grossing actors, Johnny DeppAND with Bollywood's most-beloved on-screen hero,Amitabh Bachchan.Briefly, Mr. Depp acquired the movie rights to the book and afterMs. Nair was brought on as director, Amitabh was signed on.So what did the author of Shantaram do to generate worldwideinterest in his book ?

According to a page on his personal website, Gregory DavidRoberts did a whole lot of things. A lot more than can be expectedto be covered in the average Hollywood blockbuster (which this willbe, I predict). Born in Melbourne, Australia, Mr. Roberts was aStudent activist, heroin addict, armed robber, escaped convict,smuggler, Bombay Mafia recruit, Bollywood casting director and actor,established Rock singer and......that's giving away too much.

So anyway, this ever-enterprising ex-you-name-it gentlemanis all legal now and sitting on a gold mine since he decided to documenthis adventures. This is one Pirate who's gone beyond the Carribeanand then some, and I suspect this is what motivated Johnny Deppto take on yet another lovable-bad-boy part. And why would Amitabhor anyone else for that matter refuse to get on board with Depp and Nair ?The film's in pre-production through 2008. Stay tuned, the buzz gets deep.In the meantime, I'll try and find out if there's really any Nair-Beatles project.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

You did it again. You spoke up for the world's poorest people. Congress listened, and you scored a major victory.

Two weeks ago, ONE members made thousands of calls asking senators to support a $2.4 billion increase to the international affairs budget above and beyond the president's request. In just two days, 22 Senators signed onto a letter in support of this increase. Nevertheless, just days later, the Senate budget committee made the largest cut to the international affairs budget, the primary source of poverty fighting funding, in recent history. It not only lacked the additional $2.4 billion in poverty fighting funding we asked for, but cut below the president's request by a devastating $2.2 billion.

Senators Dodd (D-CT) and Smith (R-OR) responded quickly by offering a $2.2 billion amendment to restore the cut. ONE members responded to a request for urgent action and placed thousands of additional calls urging their senators to support this important amendment. The Senate heard those calls, and unanimously passed the amendment.

By restoring this money, the Senate's official position would increase the international affairs budget by $3.7 billion over 2007 levels. This was the first step in what could be the greatest increase to the international affairs budget in recent history. We still need the House and Senate to agree on a final budget resolution and then appropriate the money later in the year, but this was the critical first step.

The success of this amendment comes on top of a string of great victories for ONE in recent months.

In the closing minutes of the 109th Congress in December, after hundreds of thousands of letters and phone calls, we renewed a special trade benefit within the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which saved hundreds of thousands of African apparel jobs.

Then in January, again by e-mailing, faxing, and calling your members of Congress in both the House and Senate, you were able to not only protect $1 billion in poverty-focused development assistance that was at risk, but Congress actually increased the funding to $1.45 billion.

This string of successes is no accident. The dedication and hard work of over 2 million ONE members like you made this happen.

Thank you for your time. Thank you for your energy. And most of all thank you for uniting as ONE to become a powerful anti-poverty advocacy force. We are saving lives, changing the American political scene, and changing the world.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

The Bollywood machine marches on, aiming at global marketsaturation. The wonderful Blogging tool that is Technoratitracks this and other blogs for any mention of Bollywood and itseems that Virtual Poona is now unofficially a Bollywood tracker:Posts that contain Bollywoodper day for the last 30 days.

Okay, I acquiesce. I did it unconsciously. No, I didn't ! I need help!But how to ignore stories like this one that documents the Bollywoodmachinations inside the Agnes church, one of Cologne's most sacredand beloved buildings ?

First off, what I like about having FON is I got this free WiFi router, shippedfree via FedEx, as part of a giveaway to thousands of people worldwide.No strings attached, don't want it, give it to someone who does.Then I was given the opportunity to 'invite' three other persons to receivea free FON router like I did. They in turn have the same 'invite' option, andso on, thereby helping FON maintain its status as the largest WiFi communityin the world. The router installation was super-fast and simple and I'm usingit all the time knowing that I have a security-enabled connection. But that isn'tthe only good thing about being part of the FON community........

Martin Varsavsky is the brains behind FON, founded in November 2005,a community-empowered company dedicated to building the world’slargest global WiFi network bottom up, spreading the power of WiFiaround the world, with one million hot spots by 2010. Fon attractedSkype, eBay and Google as partners and quickly became the largestWiFi community in the world. Martin is a long-time entrepreneur,public speaker, philantrophist and active blogger* to boot. A resident ofthe US for many years, he now lives in Europe.

Friday, March 23, 2007

I'm sharing this one because it touches me that hewrites beautiful stuff like this, and gives us so muchto look forward to.

Daughters on You Tube videosI know a girlShe puts the color inside of my worldBut she's just like a mazeWhere all of the walls all continually changeAnd I've done all I canTo stand on her steps with my heart in my handsNow I'm starting to seeMaybe it's got nothing to do with me

Fathers, be good to your daughtersDaughters will love like you doGirls become lovers who turn into mothersSo mothers, be good to your daughters too

Oh, you see that skin?It's the same she's been standing inSince the day she saw him walking awayNow she's leftCleaning up the mess he made

So fathers, be good to your daughtersDaughters will love like you doGirls become lovers who turn into mothersSo mothers, be good to your daughters too

Boys, you can breakYou'll find out how much they can takeBoys will be strongAnd boys soldier onBut boys would be gone without the warmth fromA woman's good, good heart

On behalf of every manLooking out for every girlYou are the god and the weight of her world

So fathers, be good to your daughtersDaughters will love like you doGirls become lovers who turn into mothersSo mothers, be good to your daughters too [x3]Official John Mayer site

Monday, March 19, 2007

Back in the old Bishops' School days in Poona, India*I always looked forward to visits from the British Council -sponsored Shakespearanatroupe led by the legendaryGeoffrey Kendal and his wife Laura. After our lunch breakall the boys of this all-male bastion would sit on the floor of theschool Assembly Hall and be whisked away for a few hours intoa world of old Bill's making. Time restraints did not permitthe dramatization of a complete play, but this only enhanced ourShakespearan awareness since we were treated to enormousslices from the vast output of the Bard of Avon. Many years later I watched Shashi Kapoor**star in the firstMerchant-Ivory film (IMDB link) Shakespeare-wallah and realized that I had just seen a film based on real-lifecharacters from my school days. The Kendal daughters wereJennifer and Felicity, who were to become BBC TV favorites ofmine in later years having already won my schoolboy admirationfor them in A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice,Macbeth, et al.

*I am not alone in these recollections.Here's DeepakSikand, Class of ’66-67 from Mayo College, New Delhireminiscing :'We would be taken to the Central Mess to watch theKendall family’s ‘Shakespearana’ perform short pieces from the Bard’s plays.Remember the young bachelor Shashi Kapoor kissing the beautiful Jenifer Kendallon stage? Those of you who went on to do your Senior Cambridge subsequentlywere lucky to do your Shakespearean play in your syllabus conducted by Jack.I got to know all my Shakespeare, thanks to these plays.'

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Now check out this Video: Former Urban Species lead guitarist YogiNaik plays a funkygroove on his sofa. Click this if you have a fast connection !To say hello to Yogi write to yogiguitar@hotmail।comTo say hello to me or to post comments,write to frdmill.2005(at)blogger(dot)com

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Grammy winnerNorah Jones(born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar )opened up toKatie Couric on CBS' 60 Minutes the other dayandfinally revealed that she had rekindled her ties with her father,world-renownedSitar player Ravi Shankar.Her parents never married, and Norah considers herself not half-Indian,but rather a Texan/ New Yorker since she was raised in Grapevine, Texasand lived in NYC during her formative years.

Now, about that Fantasy Album in the post title :will someone out there please listen to me and get Norah,sister Anoushka and Ravi to collaborate on an album beforehe passes away ? I'm seeing Grammy potential here !

'I didn't make this lengthy and difficult research for the past.I made it for the future. This book is not an achievement,but a beginning. I hope it will raise an interest in drapes,not only in India but in general. Archaeologists, ethnologists,artists, stylists, etc. need such studies to understand theclothing of the past, present and future.To a large part, saris are also the expression of women'screativity and could become anyone's inspiration.I don't think that these drapes should simply be recordedand have for only future the dust of libraries.

Most of us, Westerners, think that people drape becausethey don't know how to stitch. This wasn't true of the Romans,and Indians have always had additional stitched garments.Even though Indian women, clad in their elegant saris, evokein us visions of our Antiquity, they live right now in the20th century. Drapes have many advantages over stitchedclothes, especially when beauty is an important value.Saris are much more practical than we think, especially sincethey can be so easily modified.

Saris are fun to wear. From the material of this book, they canbe tried by anyone, and more styles can be created.By teaching workshops on draping, I learned that there isfor each woman one drape that fits her perfectly. It's notoften the modern sari, and can be any of the styles in mybook on "Indian Drapes", or even one the woman invents forherself. I also made this work for anybody who wants, at leastonce, to wear a drape, any kind of drape.

Draping is an art. I hope my book will help it take its placeas a heritage of mankind'

Like Liz Hurley elegantly attired in the right sari for herDesi re-nuptials, today's woman is almost instantly endowedwith regal status upon donning a Saree*. Sari. Sorry.*This thought is not lost on the most visible folks on the planet,Celebrities as presented by Ebay vendor Sabira.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

First off, this link may be old news to Gamers and userswho have been on high-speed connections for a long time.For me it was a source of hidden treaures, filled with delightful Flashanimations that I figured would keep my neice's 5 year-old sonmesmerised forever. Only as I delved deeper into the site, away fromall the games did I realized how carefully the site was aimed as adiversion for the whole family. No gore or eroticism here, justwonderful pastel backgrounds interloped with nursery-like images -mainly animals - as the main characters in an astonishing array of games.For starters: Watch the Orisinal trailer

Okay, so that was all hi-speed Flash and sound effects roaring throughyour surround-sound system and it didn't quite blow you away since you seetrailers attempting to grab your attention all the time. Good. Now you're readyto lay back and relax, courtesy ofFresno, CA-basedFerry Halim, who is theprolific twenty-something genius behind all this. This was his output after twoyears in the USA, with no formal training in Flash animation whatsoever.Updates are frequent so it'll take you a long time to go through all the stuff here- there's so much of it. Don't forget to check out his Portfolio !

Quote from a 2002 Wired.com review :'Ferry Halim -- a 28-year-old accountant from Fresno...doesn't need the latestversion of Flash for his website to stand out...Instead, Halim has created dozens of what may be the world's most addictive video games using Flash 4. They also may be the world's simplest.'

Thursday, March 08, 2007

International Women's Day The United Nations Organization:'an occasion marked by women's groups around the world.It is designated in many countries as a national holiday.When women on all continents, often divided by nationalboundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economicand political differences come together to celebrate their Day,they can look back to a tradition that represents at least ninedecades of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development.'

O-kay. All right-y, then. Let's put it in a nutshell and say that even ifyou were abandoned as a child, right now you're probably seatedin front of a PC reading this. You turned out alright. But somehow,somewhere a woman in your life remains in your head and probablypops up at times like these. So after all, would you say, "You'vecome a long way, Baby !" Huh ?Blog-a-Thonsare marking this day everywhere. I noticed these :

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Today I was checking out some really nice photo slideshowsat the one.org website and shortly thereafter decided to sign upwith them. Even more shortly than the previously-mentionedthereafter, I received this e-mail from one.org:'Thank you for taking action with ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History.Your voice DOES make a difference!

Around the same time a related AP article * appearedin Gulfnews, a newspaper in the UAE, about UCLAand other institutions delving into the Bollywood angle ofIndia's World Market penetration.

*an excerpt:The rise of popular culture as an academic discipline,which brought analysis of hip-hop and "Star Wars" touniversity classrooms, has also led to a recent scholarlyexamining of Bollywood, says Robert Goldman,professor at UC Berkeley's Department of South andSoutheast Asia Studies.

"It's like junk food," he said. "It's schmaltzy. You knowit's not the most intellectual stuff in the world, but it's fun,it's entertaining."

The Bollywood Berkeley Dance Competition is in itselfan anomaly, meshing Bollywood with local dance 'flava'while all along Bollywood had been borrowing beats anddance moves from their Western counterparts, creatinga 'Masala', or mix. This is like the early Beatles copying theAmerican R-n-B groups, who in turn hoped to stay potenton the music charts by copying the Beatles Pop-Rock harmonies.Back and forth, feeding off each other all the while adapting toan ever-increasing global cultural sensibility.

And so it goes with this blog....slowly but surely, as ourglobal differences diminish, it succumbs to everything Bollywood.And not a moment too soon. For now, we must press on to evenmore penetrating things. Like the real-life Bollywood Dreams ofrecently-wedElizabeth Hurley. I will refrain from saying the Hurleybird got the worm, for that would mean Indian Biz Mogul Arun Nayyaris a worm. I don't know him like that, and I wish them a long and happyrelationship.Gratuitous pic here.And here.

Monday, March 05, 2007

Virtual Poona is now officially registered andon the map ! ClustrMapsis keeping tabs forme free of charge and it is heartening for meto know which of my friends worldwide are visitingand reading and who else is tuning in/lurking from othercontinents. Thanks a million, come again !

Friday, March 02, 2007

Choreographer Zoobin Surty, formerly of Mumbai,holds dance auditions for Bollywood Jane in betweenattending to his duties as a cultural dance ambassadorfor South Asian Arts in Yorkshire.First Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber gave usBombay Dreams.Then came The Guruwith Jimi Mistry dancing his socks offto the Bollywood beat. And now Bollywood dance fever hasgripped Yorkshire, resulting in hot and heavy auditions forBollywood Jane, a play which runs through June at the esteemed West Yorkshire Playhouse. It's hoped that staging the play willadd to the buzz that is already being felt across Yorkshire inanticipation of the 2007 Indian International Film Academyawards which are being held in the region this summer.